Unification of the Two Lands

Unification of the Two Lands

The start of Dynastic Egypt begins with the Unification of the Two Lands.

The unification of Egypt, the uniting of the Two Lands; the Red Land and the White Land, occurred around c3100BC under the rule of the ruler of the Southern Kingdom. This ruler who united the two lands is called Menes, he is also identified with two other rulers, Narmer and Hor Aha. Early Egyptologists thought that Menes and Narmer were the same person, however more recent opinions equate Menes with Hor Aha. Menes is credited with conquering the North and unifying the two lands into one kingdom. He is thought of as the 1st king of Dynasty I.

This event, the unification, is probably not without some background, involving skirmishes between the North and South over a long period prior to the final unification. An earlier king who is known as Scorpion, again a southern king, is thought to have taken some initial steps in unifying the two lands. The evidence for this comes from the Scorpion Mace head, which depicts the Scorpion King wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt.

[Image: Grave Chamber of Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, Scene: The god Re-Harakhti (Horus - of - the - Twin - Horizons) and Amentit, the goddess of the West. He represents the union of Re and Horus as one deity - the sun at midday. Both thrones bear the symbol of the unification of the two lands - Upper and Lower Egypt.]

Snippets

Sema - Union

The symbol represents two lungs attached to the trachea. The whole is a natural symbol for the concept of unity, in this case for the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Other elements were added to the sema hieroglyph - usually fecundity figures associated with the Upper and Lower Nile or the two figures of Horus and Seth as symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt. Later, the sign was used in funerary contexts to associate the deceased with royal figures or even changing the deceased into a royal being in the afterlife.